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Re: [CQ-Contest] NCCC Statement - ARRL's Action Involving N6AA and Code

To: cq-contest@contesting.com
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] NCCC Statement - ARRL's Action Involving N6AA and Code of Conduct
From: W0MU Mike Fatchett <w0mu@w0mu.com>
Date: Wed, 3 Jan 2018 19:16:04 -0700
List-post: <mailto:cq-contest@contesting.com>
Can anyone tell me what Dick actually said that sent the ARRL into this tail spin or point me to some web sites etc.  Thanks!
W0MU


On 1/3/2018 1:16 PM, W0MU Mike Fatchett wrote:
It all helps.  There is no need to discourage any type exchange or statement.  I agree that the more people chime in to their director, the better.  If that petition gets a significant number of signatures the ARRL board better pay attention.
W0MU


On 1/3/2018 12:32 PM, Ron Notarius W3WN wrote:
Neil,

With all due respect, I don't think that a petition at change.org, in and of itself, will do much good.  It's just too easy for the people behind these changes to dismiss a single petition, no matter how many names are on it.  (Especially if they claim, legitimately or not, that most of the people on it aren't even League members)
Incidents like this need to be brought to light, and be kept in the 
light.  There are two things that can easily be done:
One is to continue keeping this in the eyes of the (amateur radio) 
public -- I just put out my monthly club newsletter, and I've got two 
full pages devoted to the subject. If members of my club (and other 
clubs around the country) aren't aware of this, then they can't do 
the next part.
The second is to write or email or telephone our Division Directors 
and Vice Directors, and TELL THEM (politely but firmly) what we think 
about these proposed changes, and what we want them to do (as our 
voting representatives on the Board) about it.  And encourage others 
to do so.  My emails to that effect will be going out tonight.
And once WE have done that, we need to encourage OTHERS to do the same.

It's easy to blow off a single petition.  It's a lot, lot harder to blow off a couple of hundred emails and phone calls.
But if we DON'T tell them, and DON'T take any action, and DON'T 
encourage others to do so, then we should have no complaint when the 
inevitable happens.  To that extent, yes, the petition is better than 
nothing... but not much better.
I'm doing and will continue to do my part.  I can only encourage 
everyone else to do the same.
73, ron W3WN




-----Original Message-----
From: Neil Johnson <neil.johnson@erudicon.com>
To: CQ-Contest <cq-contest@contesting.com>
Sent: Wed, Jan 3, 2018 2:13 pm
Subject: Re: [CQ-Contest] NCCC Statement - ARRL's Action Involving N6AA and Code of Conduct
If you are so inclined, Please consider signing the following 
petition at change.org as well. Improve ARRL transparency and respect 
for present and future membership. 
<https://www.change.org/p/american-radio-relay-league-improve-arrl-transparency-and-respect-for-present-and-future-membership?recruiter=false&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=share_page&utm_term=triggered> 
Thanks. -Neil, N0SFH On Tue, Jan 2, 2018 at 8:40 PM, Jamie WW3S 
<ww3s@zoominternet.net> wrote: > Also, its worth noting that Mr. 
Lisceno, N2YBB seconded the motion to > censure Mr. Norton. Mr. 
Lisceno is the Hudson division director and is up > for re-election 
this year. Maybe someone in ENY, NNJ, or NLI should run > against 
him..... > > -----Original Message----- From: John Dorr > Sent: 
Tuesday, January 02, 2018 9:20 PM > To: CQ-Contest > Subject: 
[CQ-Contest] NCCC Statement - ARRL's Action Involving N6AA and > Code 
of Conduct > > As co-moderator of this list, I was recently asked by 
someone (not a NCCC > member) to post the following statement in 
response to some of the recent > actions/proposals by the ARRL Board 
of Directors. Perhaps you have already > seen this email, but if not, 
I suggest you consider the thoughtful comments > being offered by the 
NCCC below. > > Note that the intent is not to spin up yet another 
endless CQ-Contest > thread (please!), but to be informed and ensure 
you are communicating with > your Director on important matters 
taking place at ARRL and with its > leadership/board. > > 73, John, 
K1AR > > > > > NCCC members and friends, > > On November 22, of this 
year, Bob, N6TV, notified us via the NCCC Reflector > of an article 
the ARRL had posted on a web page entitled, “ARRL Board of > 
Directors Publicly Censures Southwestern Division Director”. That > 
Southwestern Division Director was none other than Dick Norton, N6AA, 
one > of the super stars of amateur radio contesting and DXing. The 
same Dick > Norton who was elected to the CQ Contest Hall of Fame, in 
1995. The same > Dick Norton who is one of the very few hams to have 
operated in all 40 CQ > zones. The same Dick Norton who is currently 
the President of the Southern > California Contest Club. > > How 
could this be, I asked myself, as did many of you. The subsequent > 
comments on the reflector have been absolutely 100% supportive of 
N6AA and > 100% opposed to the ARRL’s actions. For more than a month 
now, the > comments continue to dominate our reflector. While at the 
NCCC Holiday > Dinner, I had many of those in attendance chat with me 
about it as well as > the other NCCC Board members present. > > The 
Board took a “wait and see” attitude prior to proceeding with any > 
action. We wanted to make sure we knew the facts prior to taking 
action > and several of our Board members have been seeking out those 
facts. > > As a result, and having researched the facts, the Northern 
California > Contest Club Board has issued a statement expressing our 
concern over the > ARRL’s actions involving N6AA, as well as the 
specifics of the ARRL’s new > Code of Conduct. > > Our letter, below, 
is going out tonight to the ARRL officers and board > members: > > 
------------------------------------------------------------ > 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
> > To: ARRL Directors and Officers > > From: The Northern California 
Contest Club, Inc. > > Date: December 25, 2017 > > Gentlemen, > > The 
Northern California Contest Club is an ARRL affiliated organization > 
with approximately 300 members, most of whom are themselves League 
members. > We pride ourselves upon having many of the most active 
hams in Northern > California and Western Nevada among our ranks. 
These are hams who are > active not only on the air, but also in ARRL 
matters. Over the 45 years of > our existence, our membership has 
included many ARRL Pacific Division > Directors, Vice Directors, 
Section Managers, Volunteer Counsels, Official > Observers, Emergency 
Coordinators and a host of other League appointees. > > We are 
sending this letter to express our concern about events unfolding at 
> League headquarters. Specifically, we believe the ARRL Board has 
made a > serious error in its recent censure of Southwestern Division 
Director Dick > Norton, and we are concerned with the lack of 
transparency and the stifling > of communication we see possible 
under the Board’s Code of Conduct (ARRL > Policy on Board Governance 
and Conduct of Members of the Board of Directors > and Vice 
Directors). > > Many NCCC members were in the audience for the ARRL 
forum at the 2017 > Visalia International DX Convention, and we have 
seen the letters written > to the ARRL Board by Mark Weiss, K6FG, and 
by Tim Duffy, K3LR, stating what > happened in that forum. The events 
as described by Mr. Weiss and Mr. Duffy > are accurate. In our 
opinion, Mr. Norton did nothing in the Forum to > deserve the 
censure. We respectfully request that the Board rescind the > censure 
and issue a public apology to Director Norton. > > As a related 
matter, we also have seen the letter Hudson Division Director > Mike 
Lisenco, N2YBB, sent to members of his Division in which he stated “… 
> there were individual witnesses who attended the forum in Visalia 
who came > to us with a different story than those released by Mr. 
Norton’s > supporters. … I will not discuss the specific reasons 
enumerated as they > are of a personnel nature and not appropriate 
for discussion …”. Director > Lisenco’s letter alarms us. 
Essentially, he is saying the Board censured > Director Norton based 
upon secret facts (which obviously differ from what > we, Mr. Weiss 
and Mr. Duffy observed) asserted by one or more unidentified > 
witnesses. This lack of transparency does not put the ARRL Board in a 
good > light. To the contrary, it suggests that there is an ulterior 
motive or > something the Board is trying to hide, and is far more 
likely to bring the > Board’s decisions into disrepute than anything 
Director Norton did at the > forum. > > As for a code of conduct, we 
certainly understand why it is appropriate for > the ARRL Board to 
have one. However, we believe that the specific Code > adopted by the 
Board at its January, 2017, meeting is wrong for our type of > 
membership organization. It inhibits the free and effective exchange 
of > information between our elected Director and Vice Director and 
the League > members residing in our Division. As proof of the Code’s 
“gag order” > effect, we need look no farther than Director Norton’s 
censure and the fact > that our elected representatives refused to 
discuss it with us in any > detail for fear of violating the Code 
themselves. We urge you to please > amend the current Code to provide 
for much more transparency of Board > actions and a freer exchange of 
information (including how the Directors > voted) with League 
members. > > Very truly yours, > > THE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CONTEST 
CLUB, INC. > > Bob Hess, W1RH (President) > > Chris Tate, N6WM (Vice 
President) > > Ian Parker, W6TCP (Secretary) > > Dick Wilson, K6LRN 
(Treasurer) > > Ron Castro, N6IE (Director) > > Rich Cutler, WC6H 
(Director) > > Rusty Epps, W6OAT (Director) > > 
------------------------------------------------------------ > 
------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
> > Although we have yet to see anyone in our club express an opinion 
in favor > of the ARRL’s actions involving N6AA, it is entirely 
possible, with an > organization of our size, that we may have 
members applauding the ARRL. > While our statement represents the 
opinions of the majority of our members, > we encourage any member in 
favor of the ARRL’s actions involving Dick > Norton and the new Code 
of Conduct, to contact the ARRL directly to express > their opinion. 
> > We are forwarding our statement to many other clubs and encourage 
our > members and friends to forward our statement to others in the 
Amateur Radio > Community. > > Bob Hess > > W1RH > > President, 
Northern California Contest Club > 
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> _______________________________________________ > CQ-Contest 
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http://lists.contesting.com/mailman/listinfo/cq-contest > -- Neil 
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